Panthers officially announce Griffin as coach

[I Bleed Maroon]

http://www.penrithpanthers.com.au/news/2015/10/21/coach_anthony_griffi.html

 

[nick87]

I don't think Griffin is NEARLY as bad as people make out. I think he'll be fine as a coach there but that being said, i dont think he's a top 7 coach, and think it was a poor decision to sack Cleary

 

[LineBall]

If the Panthers don't make the finals for the next 3 years - who gets the blame, Griffin or the board for hiring him?

 

[DiegoNT]

The Anthony Griffin/Peter Wallace dream team is back together again

 

[roostersrule2]

Panthers officially f**ked.

 

[ACTPanthers]

And that, my friends, is how to kill a #5yearplan

 

[thorson1987]

If the Panthers don't make the finals for the next 3 years - who gets the blame, Griffin or the board for hiring him?

Gould has said all blame goes on him if it doesn't work apparently

 

[Sime_11]

well panthers fans were not happy when Jennings/Lewis etc were released/signed by other clubs. but we are the better for it.

panthers fans are not happy with Cleary shown the door, the only way we are better for it is to make a grand final under griffin, will that happen? who knows but im not confident.

 

[Bobby DIGital]

I can't see the Panthers doing anything much with Griffin. I'm putting a line through them for next season at the least.

 

[chrisD]

well panthers fans were not happy when Jennings/Lewis etc were released/signed by other clubs. but we are the better for it.

panthers fans are not happy with Cleary shown the door, the only way we are better for it is to make a grand final under griffin, will that happen? who knows but im not confident.

Yeah we are better for losing Jennings, that guy totally sucks now.

 

[MarkC]

Griffin is a good coach, but so was Cleary.

I am not sure which one is better, but if I had to take a punt, I would say Cleary.

I don't think either are in the top 4 coaches in the game, but they are probably up to the job.

IMO the real question is not why was Griffin signed?
It is why was Cleary punted?

Gould may turn out to be a genius, but it seems like strange decision to me.
Cleary probably deserved to coach the 2016 season, if things were not going well by mid-season, then start planning a new coach for 2017.

Changing coaches can be a 1 season "sugar-hit" where the club and players have a great first season under the new coach.

It often drops off after that, as the squad at the club may not suit the style the new coach wants to play, it takes time for the new coach to then build the squad he wants.

Change coach too frequently, and you are constantly rebuilding.

Equally there is a time when the best thing to do is change coach, I didn't the Panthers were at that stage with Cleary.

 

[I Bleed Maroon]

Cleary >>>> Griffin

 

[Different kind of Rabbit]

For those who think he is a good coach, you only need look at his Broncos record to see that this is not the case.

2011 - 3rd
2012 - 8th
2013 - 12th.

When you consider that the Broncos are the best resourced team in the competition with one of the best Junior catchment areas, they should always be competitive. Instead they got progressively worse under his coaching, to the point where they missed the finals for the first time in their history...

It's pretty clear that he is a bog average coach.

I reckon if you gave Cleary the same resource base to call on, he would absolutely nail it.

Hard to see the Panthers doing anything over the next three years except becoming progressively worse.

The only way I see them bucking the trend is if Griffin is just a patsy and Gould is really coaching the team behind the scenes. Can't see that happening though.

 

[Dazzat]

A few thoughts on this saga ...

Cleary was poached from the Warriors on merit, coaching one of the most difficult gigs in town - the NZ Warriors who are renowned to be coach killers.

Griffin was sacked by the Broncos - one of the most sophisticated clubs in the league, with more resources than any other club in the league.

The time of the Broncos under Griffin can be remembered for a few things:

* absolute chaos in terms of player retention and recruitment
* two of the worst player purchases of all time - Barba and Kennedy - both of which are still costing the club money for virtually no return
* the worst defence in the Broncos' history
* the worst attack in the Broncos' history
* mediocre players being picked week after week (Barba, Hoffman, Maranta for example)
* players of potential (Granville, Hunt and Jarryd Wallace plus many more) getting virtually no game time
* no players from lower grades coming through, being promoted on merit or given a crack (Granville is the prime example - only given a couple of games by Griffin and then starts in a premiership winning team the next year)

Players who walked out of the club in frustration under Griffin - Peter Wallace, Corey Norman, Jake Granville, Kirk Baptiste.

Gould is delusional to suggest Griffin laid the platform for Bennett's success. Bennett came in with a big broom, and quietly cleaned out the mess.

Granted, the last year of Griffin's tenure was "life without Lockyer", but Griffin knew that was coming for a long, long time.

 

[CCJohnC]

I am a Panther fan and I am not unhappy Cleary has gone given the reasons I have read. The appointment of Griffin at this time prior to commencement of preseason training is good thinking. To leave decisions of this importance to part way through next season or later bearing in mind players coming off contract would cause more problems than they solve. Gould has said the remaining support staff will stay for next season. I wish Anthony Griffin a very successful 2016.

 

[PANTHERMIKE]

I reckon if you gave Cleary the same resource base to call on, he would absolutely nail it.

Penrith has the best, if not equally the best junior nursery 'Resource' in the country.

I don't get this comment.

Kids such as Moylan, Cartwright, Jennings boys, DWZ, Wade Graham, Austin were all at his disposal at some point to call up on.

 

[Different kind of Rabbit]

Penrith has the best, if not equally the best junior nursery 'Resource' in the country.

I don't get this comment.

Kids such as Moylan, Cartwright, Jennings boys, DWZ, Wade Graham, Austin were all at his disposal at some point to call up on.

Resources aren't just juniors.

The Broncos also have the best football department in the country. The best health and fitness setup and limitless funding to spend on all of the above.

If Griffin had have gone to the Broncos board and said he needed a space shuttle to help fly players to the moon and back as the lack of gravity on the moon helped with recovery, he'd have had one parked out front of the club the following week.

What I am saying is that if you can't make it as a coach at the Broncos, then you are going to be hard against it making it as a coach at any of the other clubs.

 

[mxlegend99]

A
Players who walked out of the club in frustration under Griffin - Peter Wallace, Corey Norman, Jake Granville, Kirk Baptiste.

:lol:

Outside of Granville none of those guys are players the Broncos would want back.

Cleary/Gus have let the likes of Michael Jennings, Lachlan Coote, Luke Lewis, Blake Austin etc. leave during contracts. Two of them have gone on to win premierships since. Austin was among the form halves this year and Lewis was the leading try scorer for forwards.

 

[MarkC]

Penrith has the best, if not equally the best junior nursery 'Resource' in the country.

I can see both sides of the argument.

Penrith do have good junior talent and Griffin is supposed to be good at developing talent.

Equally the Broncos seem to be going much better this year under Bennett, it is hard to say what ground work Griffin laid for Bennett's success.

It could be the Bennett is a better coach than Griffin and Cleary full stop.

But I still can't pinpoint what Cleary is supposed to have done wrong, he a brought a number of young players through the grades to success at NRL level.

If anything injuries to key players, Wallace and Soward in particular have had a big impact. IMO Gould had a big input into signing Wallace and Soward, my problem with the Penrith set up is I don't know how much influence Gould has or what his role is.

I prefer someone like Gould to merely be a consultant and the coach to make the final call on team selections and recruitment and retention. Watering down the coaches influence means the coach doesn't have the opportunity to succeed or fail on merit.

 

[I Bleed Maroon]

A few thoughts on this saga ...

Cleary was poached from the Warriors on merit, coaching one of the most difficult gigs in town - the NZ Warriors who are renowned to be coach killers.

Griffin was sacked by the Broncos - one of the most sophisticated clubs in the league, with more resources than any other club in the league.

The time of the Broncos under Griffin can be remembered for a few things:

* absolute chaos in terms of player retention and recruitment
* two of the worst player purchases of all time - Barba and Kennedy - both of which are still costing the club money for virtually no return
* the worst defence in the Broncos' history
* the worst attack in the Broncos' history
* mediocre players being picked week after week (Barba, Hoffman, Maranta for example)
* players of potential (Granville, Hunt and Jarryd Wallace plus many more) getting virtually no game time
* no players from lower grades coming through, being promoted on merit or given a crack (Granville is the prime example - only given a couple of games by Griffin and then starts in a premiership winning team the next year)

Players who walked out of the club in frustration under Griffin - Peter Wallace, Corey Norman, Jake Granville, Kirk Baptiste.

Gould is delusional to suggest Griffin laid the platform for Bennett's success. Bennett came in with a big broom, and quietly cleaned out the mess.

Granted, the last year of Griffin's tenure was "life without Lockyer", but Griffin knew that was coming for a long, long time.

Granville is the only one of those 4 that Brisbane had any business attempting to retain.